Planning For Spring

January is a great time to begin planning your garden!

I’ve written in the past about how important it is for people to grow some of their own food.  It may not be possible to grow all of the food we need (especially if you have a large family), but it’s absolutely possible to grow an incredible amount of the food we eat, even in small spaces. 

Some of you may be asking, “Rob, why in the world are you writing about gardening in January?”  Don’t worry, I’ve got an answer for you.  😊   January is a great time to begin planning your spring garden.  In my area, I can’t safely place plants/seeds in the ground until mid-May (still iffy) so I spend the time I have available in the cold of winter to plan and diagram the year’s new crops. 

Many of you have mentioned in comments over the months that you are new to gardening.  The first advice I would give anyone who is new to gardening is:  Don’t panic or be scared, and don’t give up!  It doesn’t take a lot of skill to grow vegetables, but there are a few things that will help you be successful.  Even if your soil isn’t all that great, you can at least try growing some things and see how they do while you plan on improving the soil.  It can take years to improve the soil in your garden depending on your climate and what kind of soil you are dealing with.  

Here are a few tips:

Start small!  Don’t till up your entire yard and plant every vegetable known to man right out of the gate.  I recommend just planting a 10’ x 10’ (or even 5’ by 5’) plot the first time and experiment with a few plants to see how they do for you. 

Start with easy to grow plants!  Some seeds grow almost anywhere in almost any conditions and I would recommend trying some of these types of plants first.  Radishes, Spinach, Lettuce, and Kale just to name a few of the “sure fire” plants to build your confidence. 

Plants need light!  Be sure to place your plot in an area where it can get sunlight.  

Plants need water!  I believe this is one of the most confusing parts of gardening.  Almost all plants need “moist” soil.  Not 100% dried out, and not soggy.  You don’t need any fancy gadgets to tell you if your plants need water.  Stick your finger in the soil around your plant and if it feels “moist”, you’re good, don’t water.  If you forget to water, your plants will usually tell you by the way they look.  If they look a little wilted (except when the sun is beating down on them mid-summer), it’s time to check and see if they need water. 

Sow tall plants in the back!  If you are new to gardening, you may not know how big a vegetable plant can grow.  If you don’t know, read the seed packet.  Typically, the seed packet will tell you the average height of a full grown plant.  You’ll want to plant the tallest plants on the North end of the plot and work your way south with progressively shorter plants.  For instance, I plant my corn on the very north end and my bush beans would most likely be at the south end.  Corn can grow up to 8 feet tall, bush beans up to two feet tall (depending on varieties of course).   That pretty little tomato plant you bought can sometimes grow 5 feet tall and 5 feet wide, so just keep in mind that you don’t want to block the light from your other plants that don’t get that tall. 

Err on the side of little to no fertilizer at first!  If you have great soil with lots of organic matter, you should not need to use fertilizer at all.  If you are just starting a garden and don’t know the quality of the soil, you may need a bit of fertilizer until you get your soil “built” (and that’s a long conversation for another time).  I recommend just planting the vegetables and see how they do.  Some may do great in your soil and some may not.  Just pay attention to the way they grow and bear.  If it looks like your plants are not doing anything, they are probably hungry and a fertilizer may be necessary.  If possible, use an organic fertilizer and I recommend using just *half* of the recommended dose. A soil test kit is also a great tool to give you an idea of what your soil may be lacking.

Weeds kill (but don’t use weed killer)!  Yes, you will have to weed your garden.  The key?  Spend a half hour or so every day plucking out the little devils. If you keep up with it, it is very easy and very relaxing.  I just take a bucket out with me, some really good knee pads (got to protect your knees!) and spend time plucking weeds and listening to the rapidly declining bird population chirping and singing.  I end up mesmerized by bees, wasps, ladybugs, and praying mantis.  It’s the best therapy I’ve ever found.  Don’t look at weed pulling as a chore to be dreaded, but as an enjoyable act.  Those vegetables will thank you for your effort and will reward you come harvest time. 

Don’t get caught up in the “right way” to garden! I have never met a gardener that cares for their plants exactly the same way I do. We all have our own way that “works” for our plants. Once you find what works for you, don’t let others tell you that their way is the “only way” to grow vegetables.  

All of the above being said, I sit down every year and draw a diagram of my garden plan.  I draw the plot on a piece of paper and then I start planning where to place all of my plants that year.  Rotating crops is kind of important but not always necessary depending on the health of your soil.  I recommend not worrying about all the rotating and details like that at first.  Just stick with the basics. 

If you are a beginner, there are a couple of very simple books that may assist you in your endeavor:

Square Foot Gardening

The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener

I have used these in the past and still reference them from time to time and I’ve been gardening vegetables for 50 years.  They are both very simple books to understand and can assist you in learning how to grow your own food.

Yep, that’s me holding a squash I grew

I have a feeling people get sick of me saying it, as I may sound like a broken record, but the key to liberty is learning how to claim independence for yourself, your family and your community.  No giant government or special interest group is going to make you free.  I’ve been shocked over the last three years to see just how many people really don’t understand liberty at all.  I’ve watched our society look to politicians and others for “permission” to be free.  I’ve seen people give up all of their rights because “they” said they had to.  We will never be free as a society until we have embraced freedom in our own lives.  That is a fact. I know for certain that if people don’t know how to grasp independence on an individual level, it’s impossible to procure it on a societal level.  It just can’t happen.  There’s no one that’s going to wave a magic wand and say, “now you’re free!”   No… we have to claim that liberty for ourselves. Growing our own food, learning how to repair things, learning to cook from scratch, etc… that’s all part of it (all of which allows us to make less money, thus paying less taxes).  Every time we do something for ourselves, that gets us out of the beast system, we are giving a giant finger to the man.  Growing a garden is one of the very best ways to do that.  So give it a try this year.   Join with me in planning your spring garden… in January!